By Maya Gebeily DAMASCUS (Reuters) - The mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, arrived in Damascus on Saturday to step up the search for her son and said she hopes she can take him home with her.

DAMASCUS, Syria — The mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing in Syria since 2012, said Monday during a visit to the Syrian capital that the incoming Trump administration has offered to help uncover long-awaited answers about the fate of her son.

Austin Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and McClatchy, was one of the first US journalists to make it into Syria.

Austin Tice, a freelance journalist for outlets including McClatchy, CBS, and The Washington Post, disappeared in Syria on Aug. 14, 2012, shortly after his 31st birthday. He was reportedly stopped at a checkpoint in a Damascus suburb while reporting on Syria’s civil war.

The mother of US journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, said on Monday in Damascus that the war-torn country's new leadership was committed to finding him.Tice was working as a freelance journalist for Agence France-Presse,

For the first time in a decade, Debra Tice, the mother of missing American journalist, Austin Tice, returns to Syria to find news of her son.

The mother of American journalist Austin Tice says the Trump administration offered support to help find her son, who disappeared in Syria in 2012.

President Trump has already promised to do everything he can to bring home Austin Tice, the Marine veteran who vanished more than 12 years ago while working as a journalist in Syria, according to his mom.

I have great hope that the Trump administration will sincerely engage in diligent work to bring Austin home,” Debra Tice said.